Rapid Decrease of 7-Valent Conjugate Vaccine Coverage for Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases in Pediatric Patients in Japan

The recent bacterial etiology of childhood osteoarticular infections focusing on the vaccine initiation for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae: A single-center retrospective analysis in Japan

Background

Pediatric acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis can destroy growth plate cartilage and joint cartilage, causing permanent deformities and growth disorders. Preventing the contraction of osteoarticular infections is important. Various types of bacteria cause osteoarticular infections in children. Since 2013, when routine vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae was initiated in Japan, diseases caused by these bacteria (other than osteoarticular infection) are reported to decrease. In this study, we aimed to re-confirm the actual situation including the presence of pathogenic bacteria of pediatric bone and joint infections.

Methods

The subjects were patients of 15 years old or younger who had been diagnosed with acute osteomyelitis or septic arthritis and received initial treatment in our hospital from April 1995 to March 2019. We obtained information from the medical records and analyzed them statistically.

Results

There were 65 patients with 65 bones with acute osteomyelitis, and 120 patients with 124 joints with septic arthritis. The pathogenic bacteria were identified in 26 (40.0%) osteomyelitis patients and 59 (49.2%) septic arthritis patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogenic bacterium, and S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were identified in four and seven patients respectively, frequently in younger patients. After routine vaccination against S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae, these bacteria were no longer detected in patients under five years old.

Conclusions

The efficacy of the S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae vaccine against orthopedic infectious diseases in Japan was indicated.

Burden of illness associated with pneumococcal infections in Japan - a targeted literature review

INTRODUCTION

Pneumococcal diseases (PDs) are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the evidence on epidemiology, health economic, and patient-reported outcomes has not been systematically reviewed and published in Japan. This study aimed to assess the burden, treatment adherence and compliance, and serotype distribution associated with PDs in Japan.

METHOD

One hundred and eight studies were identified between January 2005 and June 2020. The identified studies were mostly regional and with a limited scale, clinical settings, and populations.

RESULTS

In 2013-2017, invasive PD incidence rates were 4.98-9.47/100,000 in <4-year-olds, 0.36/100,000 in 5-14-year-olds, 0.46/100,000 in 15-64-year-olds, and 1.50-5.38/100,000 in the elderly. The incidence of invasive PDs in children decreased from 24.6/100,000 in 2008 to 10.7/100,000 in 2013 after the introduction of PCV7 and further declined to 10.3/100,000 in 2014 after PCV13 was introduced. From 2014, the prevalence of PCV13 serotypes decreased across all age groups along with a decrease of PPV23 serotypes, but an increase of PPV23 serotypes not included in PCV13 among adults and the elderly. No study reported health-related quality-of-life data for PDs. In children, direct costs were 340,905-405,978 JPY (3,099-3,691 USD) per pneumococcal bacteraemia, 767,447-848,255 JPY (6,977-7,711 USD) per pneumococcal meningitis, and 79,000 JPY (718 USD) per pneumococcal acute otitis media episodes. In adults and the elderly, the direct cost of pneumococcal pneumonia was 348,280-389,630 JPY (3,166-3,542 USD). The average hospital stay length was 7.2-31.9 days in children, 9.0 days in adults and 9.0-28.7 days in adults and the elderly.

CONCLUSIONS

The epidemiological burden of PDs remains high in Japan, especially among children and the elderly with invasive PDs accounting for a very small proportion of all PDs. A significant impact of the PCV13 vaccine program was reported, while the PPV23's impact remains unclear. A substantial decrease in quality-adjusted life years in adults and the elderly and a high economic burden may exist.

Prognosis and acute complications at the first onset of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children: a nationwide survey in Japan (JP-SHINE study)

BACKGROUND

Information on the epidemiology of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) in children, complications of INS and the side effects of steroid therapy is scarce.

METHODS

The Japanese Pediatric Survey Holding Information of Nephrotic Syndrome, a nationwide cohort study, was conducted by the Japanese Study Group of Renal Disease in Children and enrolled 2099 children with newly diagnosed INS between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2012. We conducted a follow-up study of the complications during the first onset and the patients' prognosis in this cohort.

RESULTS

We obtained follow-up data on 999 children (672 males) with a median age at onset of 4.5 years [interquartile range (IQR) 2.8-9.4] and a median follow-up period of 4.1 years (IQR 2.5-5.1). At the first onset, 24% of patients experienced severe acute kidney injury (AKI), defined as a serum creatinine increase to a level two or more times the baseline. On logistic regression analysis, age, hematuria, severe hypoalbuminemia (serum albumin <1.0 g/dL) and severe bacterial infection were not independent factors, but female sex {hazard ratio [HR] 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-1.7]} and hypertension [HR 4.0 (95% CI 2.6-6.0)] were significantly related to AKI. During the observation period, ocular hypertension requiring treatment occurred in 17.4% of patients, among which 0.4% received surgical treatment. Progression to frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome/steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome in 3 years was seen in 44.2% of the patients and was shown by the Cox regression analysis to be significantly related to younger age and days until remission at the first episode, but not to sex, hematuria, the minimum serum albumin level or AKI. Two patients died during the observation period. One patient showed progression to end-stage kidney disease.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of a multicenter questionnaire survey, the overall survival and renal survival rates were found to be excellent. However, proper management of complications, particularly in AKI and ocular hypertension, is mandatory.

Pneumococcal Competition Modulates Antibiotic Resistance in the Pre-Vaccination Era: A Modelling Study

The ongoing emergence of antibiotic resistant strains and high frequencies of antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae poses a major public health challenge. How and which ecological and evolutionary mechanisms maintain the coexistence of antibiotic resistant and susceptible strains remains largely an open question. We developed an individual-based, stochastic model expanding on a previous pneumococci modelling framework. We explore how between- and within-host mechanisms of competition can sustain observed levels of resistance to antibiotics in the pre-vaccination era. Our framework considers that within-host competition for co-colonization between resistant and susceptible strains can arise via pre-existing immunity (immunological competition) or intrinsic fitness differences due to resistance costs (ecological competition). We find that beyond stochasticity, population structure or movement, competition at the within-host level can explain observed resistance frequencies. We compare our simulation results to pneumococcal antibiotic resistance data in the European region using approximate Bayesian computation. Our results demonstrate that ecological competition for co-colonization can explain the variation in co-existence of resistant and susceptible pneumococci observed in the pre-vaccination era. Furthermore, we show that within-host pneumococcal competition can facilitate the maintenance of resistance in the pre-vaccination era. Accounting for these competition-related components of pneumococcal dynamics can improve our understanding of drivers for the emergence and maintenance of antibiotic resistance in pneumococci.

Penicillin-Binding Protein Typing, Antibiotic Resistance Gene Identification, and Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Meropenem-Resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 19A-CC3111 Strains in Japan

Since the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, the prevalence of non-meropenem-susceptible pneumococci has been increasing in Japan. In an earlier study, we demonstrated that multidrug-resistant serotype 15A-ST63 in Japan has a specific pbp1a sequence (pbp1a-13) that could promote meropenem resistance. To trace the origin of pbp1a, we analyzed isolates of serotype 19A-CC3111, which is the most prevalent non-meropenem-susceptible clone in Japan. We analyzed a total of 119 serotype 19A-CC3111 strains recovered in Japan using whole-genome sequencing. Of the 119 isolates, 53 (44.5%) harbored pbp1a-13, indicating that the clone may be the primary reservoir of the pbp1a type and that the pbp1a region may be horizontally transferred between different serotype strains. The single acquisition of pbp1a-13 seemed to cause only penicillin resistance and not multidrug resistance; a combination of penicillin-binding protein (PBP) recombination in the pbp2b and/or pbp2x region(s) with acquisition of pbp1a-13 caused multidrug resistance. Conserved amino acid motif analysis suggested that the pbp1a 370SXXK, pbp2b 448SXN, and pbp2x 337SXXN motifs were the candidates for amino acid substitutions increasing the MICs of meropenem, cefotaxime, and penicillin. We identified a specific clone that was correlated with multidrug resistance, although no correlation was observed between phylogenetic trees generated using core genomes and those generated with only the cps locus. All tested isolates were highly erythromycin resistant, and most harbored mefE within macrolide efflux genetic assembly (MEGA) elements and ermB within Tn917, which was inserted within Tn916 and exhibited a structure identical to that of Tn2017.

Role of phosphorylcholine in Streptococcus pneumoniae and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae adherence to epithelial cells

OBJECTIVE

Phosphorylcholine (PC) is a structural component of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), and is known to be associated with adherence through the platelet activating factor receptor (PAF-R). Furthermore, high PC expression is considered to be involved in Spn and NTHi virulence. In this study, we examined the influence of PC expression on the adherence of Spn and NTHi to epithelial cells in order to clarify the potential effectiveness of a vaccine targeting PC.

METHODS

Twenty-seven strains of Spn and twenty-two strains of NTHi were used, cultured overnight, and PC expression was evaluated by fluorescence activated cell sorting; the strains were divided into two groups: PC low expression (PC-low) and PC high expression (PC-high) groups. Bacterial adherence was then examined using Detroit 562 cells and BALB/c mice. Bacterial invasion was then examined in Detroit 562 cells.

RESULTS

The adherence of Spn and NTHi and invasion of NTHi in the PC-high group was significantly reduced by pretreatment with a monoclonal anti-PC antibody (TEPC-15), PAF-R antagonist (ABT-491), and PC-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (PC-KLH). However, such findings were not observed in the PC-low group.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that PC is involved in the mucosal adhesion of Spn and NTHi, and the mucosal invasion of NTHi with PC-high strains, but not PC-low strains. These results suggest that a PC-targeting mucosal vaccine only affects PC-high Spn and NTHi strains and does not disturb commensal bacterial flora in the upper respiratory tract, which comprises nonpathogenic PC-low bacteria.

Vaccination can drive an increase in frequencies of antibiotic resistance among nonvaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major public health concern, being responsible for more than 1.5 million deaths annually through pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia. Available vaccines target only a subset of serotypes, so vaccination is often accompanied by a rise in the frequency of nonvaccine serotypes. Epidemiological studies suggest that such a change in serotype frequencies is often coupled with an increase of antibiotic resistance among nonvaccine serotypes. Building on previous multilocus models for bacterial pathogen population structure, we have developed a theoretical framework incorporating variation of serotype and antibiotic resistance to examine how their associations may be affected by vaccination. Using this framework, we find that vaccination can result in a rapid increase in the frequency of preexisting resistant variants of nonvaccine serotypes due to the removal of competition from vaccine serotypes.

Two cases of acute pneumococcal purulent arthritis

We present two adult cases of pneumococcal severe arthritis one case with, and other case without pericarditis those occurred in one season. Both cases eventually recovered, and the isolated S. pneumoniae strains were serotype 12F and penicillin susceptible. The patients were not elderly and had no medical history including pneumonia and vaccination. Although S. pneumoniae is a relatively rare causative pathogen of arthritis and/or pericarditis recently, a greater number of cases may be expected as a result of serotype conversion due to the increased use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in Japan.

Genome Evolution to Penicillin Resistance in Serotype 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae by Capsular Switching

Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates of serotype 3 were collected from cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (n = 124) throughout Japan between April 2010 and March 2013. A penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP) isolate from an adult patient, strain KK0981 of serotype 3, was identified among these strains. Whole-genome analysis characterized this PRSP as a recombinant strain derived from PRSP of serotype 23F with the cps locus (20.3 kb) replaced by that of a penicillin-susceptible strain of serotype 3.

Impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on serotype distribution of adult non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Tokai region, Japan, 2008-2016

The introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in February 2010 markedly reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease and changed serotype distribution in Japan. In November 2013, PCV7 was replaced by the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13). We investigated the serotype distribution and susceptibility trends of non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates collected from adult patients. A total of 504 pneumococcal isolates were collected during 4 periods between 2008 and 2016 (Period 1; between June 2008 and April 2009, Period 2; between September 2010 and March 2011, Period 3; between October 2011 and March 2012, Period 4; between August 2015 and January 2016). The coverage of PCV7 and PCV13 significantly decreased from 38.6% and 60.5% in Period 1 to 6.6% and 31.1% in Period 4. This change was mainly due to a large decrease in the frequency of serotype 19F, 6B, and 14. Serotype 3 was the most frequently isolated, and gradually increased. Additionally, non-PCV13 serotypes 11A, 33F, and 35B significantly increased. Most of the PCV7 serotypes 19F, 23F, 6B, and 14 had mutations of penicillin-binding protein genes and macrolide resistance genes, and these serotypes showed low susceptibilities to cefdinir and clarithromycin. On the other hand, a significant change in susceptibility to various antimicrobial agents was not observed throughout the study period, except for decreased susceptibility to carbapenems. Continuous surveillance studies of pneumococcal serotype changes and drug susceptibility are necessary in future.

Acute bacterial meningitis in adults

Over the past several decades, the incidence of bacterial meningitis in children has decreased but there remains a significant burden of disease in adults, with a mortality of up to 30%. Although the pathogenesis of bacterial meningitis is not completely understood, knowledge of bacterial invasion and entry into the CNS is improving. Clinical features alone cannot determine whether meningitis is present and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid is essential for diagnosis. Newer technologies, such as multiplex PCR, and novel diagnostic platforms that incorporate proteomics and genetic sequencing, might help provide a quicker and more accurate diagnosis. Even with appropriate antimicrobial therapy, mortality is high and so attention has focused on adjunctive therapies; adjunctive corticosteroids are beneficial in certain circumstances. Any further improvements in outcome are likely to come from either modulation of the host response or novel approaches to therapy, rather than new antibiotics. Ultimately, the best hope to reduce the disease burden is with broadly protective vaccines.

Immunogenicity and Safety of 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Compared With 7-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Among Healthy Infants in China

BACKGROUND

Immunogenicity and safety of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) were compared with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in Chinese infants.

METHODS

Healthy infants aged 2 months were randomized to a double-blind 3-dose infant series plus 1 toddler dose of PCV7 or PCV13 at 3, 4, 5 and 12 months or open-label PCV13 at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months. Serotype-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) binding and functionality were measured 1 month after the infant series and after the toddler dose. Local reactions, systemic events and adverse events were assessed postvaccination.

RESULTS

For the 7 common serotypes, serotype-specific binding IgGs elicited by PCV13 were noninferior to PCV7 after the 3-dose infant series; functional antibodies were comparable. For the 6 additional serotypes, PCV13 recipients had significantly higher serotype-specific IgGs and functional antibodies than PCV7 recipients after the infant series. The toddler dose boosted the immune response. Local reactions and systemic events were mild in severity and similar across groups. No new safety signals were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

For the 7 common serotypes, serotype-specific binding IgG after 2 different 3-dose regimens of PCV13 were noninferior to PCV7 responses. PCV13 recipients had significantly higher immune responses to the 6 additional serotypes. PCV13 is expected to provide pneumococcal disease protection comparable to PCV7 for the common serotypes and further protection against disease caused by the 6 additional serotypes. Safety of PCV7 and PCV13 was comparable.

Worldwide Lineages of Clinical Pneumococci in a Japanese Teaching Hospital Identified by DiversiLab System

Pneumococcal Molecular Epidemiology Network (PMEN) clones are representatives of worldwide-spreading pathogens. DiversiLab system, a repetitive PCR system, has been proposed as a less labor-and time-intensive genotyping platform alternative to conventional methods. However, the utility and analysis parameters of DiversiLab for identifying worldwide lineages was not established. To evaluate and optimize the performance of DiversiLab for identifying worldwide pneumococcal lineages, we examined 245 consecutive isolates of clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae from all age-group patients at a teaching hospital in Japan. The capsular swelling reaction of all isolates yielded 24 different serotypes. Intensive visual observation (VO) of DiversiLab band pattern difference divided all isolates into 73 clusters. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of representative 73 isolates from each VO cluster yielded 51 different STs. Among them, PMEN-related lineages accounted for 63% (46/73). Although the serotype of PMEN-related isolates was identical to that of the original PMEN clone in 70% (32/46), CC156-related PMEN lineages, namely Greece(6B)-22 and Colombia(23F)-26, harbored various capsular types discordant to the original PMEN clones. Regarding automated analysis, genotyping by extended Jaccard (XJ) with a 75% similarity index cutoff (SIC) showed the highest correlation with serotyping (adjusted Rand's coefficient, 0.528). Elevating the SIC for XJ to 85% increased the discriminatory power sufficient for distinguishing two major PMEN-related isolates of Taiwan(19F)-14 and Netherlands(3)-31. These results demonstrated a potential utility of DiversiLab for identifying worldwide lineage of pneumococcus. An optimized parameters of automated analysis should be useful especially for comparison for reference strains by "identification" function of DiversiLab.

Immunogenicity and safety of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) co-administered with DTPa vaccine in Japanese children: A randomized, controlled study

This phase III, randomized, open-label, multicenter study (NCT01027845) conducted in Japan assessed the immunogenicity, safety, and reactogenicity of 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV, given intramuscularly) co-administered with diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine (DTPa, given subcutaneously). Infants (N=360 ) were randomized (2:1) to receive either PHiD-CV and DTPa (PHiD-CV group) or DTPa alone (control group) as 3-dose primary vaccination (3–4–5 months of age) and booster vaccination (17–19 months of age). Immune responses were measured before and one month after primary/booster vaccination and adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Post-primary immune responses were non-inferior to those in pivotal/efficacy European or Latin American pneumococcal protein D-conjugate vaccine studies. For each PHiD-CV serotype, at least 92.6% of infants post-primary vaccination and at least 97.7% of children post-booster had pneumococcal antibody concentrations ≥0.2 μg/ml, and at least 95.4% post-primary and at least 98.1% post-booster had opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers ≥8 . Geometric mean antibody concentrations and OPA titers (except OPA titer for 6B) were higher post-booster than post-priming for each serotype. All PHiD-CV-vaccinated children had anti-protein D antibody concentrations ≥100 EL.U/ml one month post-primary/booster vaccination and all were seroprotected/seropositive against each DTPa antigen. Redness and irritability were the most common solicited AEs in both groups. Incidences of unsolicited AEs were comparable between groups. Serious AEs were reported for 47 children (28 in PHiD-CV group); none were assessed as vaccine-related. In conclusion, PHiD-CV induced robust immune responses and was well tolerated when co-administered with DTPa in a 3-dose priming plus booster regimen to Japanese children.

Immunogenicity and Safety of a 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Given With DTaP Vaccine in Healthy Infants in Japan

BACKGROUND

13-Valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) provides broader protection against pneumococcal disease than 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). This study performed in Japan compared the safety and immunogenicity of PCV13 with PCV7.

METHODS

Healthy Japanese infants received PCV13 and diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), PCV7 and DTaP or DTaP alone subcutaneously as a 3-dose infant series, with a fourth dose at 12 months of age. Antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) serum concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity and DTaP antibodies were measured 1 month after doses 3 and 4.

RESULTS

After 3 and 4 doses, the proportion of subjects in the PCV13 + DTaP group achieving IgG concentrations ≥0.35 μg/mL to the 7 serotypes common to PCV13 and PCV7 was noninferior to that of the PCV7 + DTaP group. IgG geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) in the PCV13 + DTaP group were lower than but noninferior to the PCV7 + DTaP group GMCs. For the 6 additional pneumococcal serotypes, the proportion of PCV13 + DTaP group responders achieving IgG concentrations ≥0.35 μg/mL and IgG GMCs (except serotype 3 after dose 4) was noninferior to the lowest PCV7 + DTaP group pneumococcal response in PCV7 recipients, and responses to the 6 additional antigens were significantly higher. The majority of the subjects achieved prespecified antibody levels to DTaP antigens. GMCs to DTaP antigens were comparable among groups, except filamentous hemagglutinin (numerically higher in the DTaP alone group after dose 4).

CONCLUSIONS

PCV13 + DTaP was as immunogenic as PCV7 for the 7 common pneumococcal antigens and elicited significantly higher responses to the 6 additional antigens. DTaP responses were comparable across groups. PCV13 given with DTaP was safe and well tolerated.

Memory B-Cell Pools Predict the Immune Response to Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Immunocompromised Children

BACKGROUND

The immune responses to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) are low in immunocompromised hosts. The effect of memory B cells on the immune response to PCV remains elusive.

METHODS

In this prospective study, 53 children who received 7-valent PCV were enrolled. Antipneumococcal immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels and opsonization index (OI) titers, along with lymphocyte subsets, were investigated in immunocompromised and immunocompetent hosts. Immunocompromised patients comprised 8 hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients (group A) and 9 immunosuppressive therapy recipients (group B), and controls consisted of 14 children aged >1 year (group C) and 22 infants (group D).

RESULTS

Serotype-specific IgG concentrations and OIs in group A were lower than those in group C. These did not differ among groups B, C, and D. The rates of achieving immunity (defined as an IgG level of 1.0 µg/mL and an OI of 8) in group A were also lower than in group C. Despite the sustained numbers of total T cells and B cells, CD27(+) B-cell and CD4(+) T-cell counts in group A were lower than those in group C. In group B, the immunoglobulin D-expressing CD27(-) B-cell count was only lower than that in group C.

CONCLUSIONS

Circulating numbers of CD27(+) B cells, rather than CD4(+) T cells, may predict the effective PCV responses in immunocompromised children.

[Rapid identification of meningitis due to bacterial pathogens]

We constructed a new real-time PCR method to detect causative pathogens in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patient due to bacterial meningitis. The eight pathogens targeted in the PCR are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aurues, Neisseria meningitides, Listeria monocytogenes, Esherichia coli, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The total time from DNA extraction from CSF to PCR analysis was 1.5 hour. The pathogens were detected in 72% of the CSF samples (n=115) by real-time PCR, but in only 48% by culture, although the microorganisms were completely concordant. The detection rate of pathogens with PCR was significantly better than that with cultures in patients with antibiotic administration.In conclusion, detection with real-time PCR is useful for rapidly identifying the causative pathogens of meningitis and for examining the clinical course of chemotherapy.

Pneumococcal vaccination reduced the risk of acute otitis media: Cohort study

BACKGROUND

Seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was introduced to Japan in 2009, and after that invasive pneumococcal disease has gradually decreased. There are few data, however, on the effectiveness of PCV7 against acute otitis media (AOM) in Japan.

METHODS

From 10 daycare centers in Sapporo, Japan, 614 parents participated in the survey. Each parent reported whether their child subject had received one or more doses of PCV7, and, if so, the exact dates of receiving PCV7 were verified by reviewing their maternal and child health handbooks marked by a pediatrician. AOM was diagnosed by otorhinolaryngologist or pediatrician. Cox's proportional hazard model was used for calculating the hazard ratio (HR) of AOM incidence reduced by PCV7 inoculation.

RESULTS

Inoculation of PCV7 significantly reduced the risk of AOM (crude HR, 0.63; 95%CI: 0.50-0.79). Adjusting for potentially confounding variables reduced the risk further (adjusted HR, 0.32; 95%CI: 0.23-0.44). On stratification by subject age on 30 April 2012, PCV7 was significantly associated with a reduced risk of AOM in both infants < 3 years old, and in children ≥ 3 years.

CONCLUSION

PCV7 is effectiveness in reducing the risk of AOM both in infants < 3 years old, and in young children ≥ 3 years in Japan.

Characterization of Mucoid and Non-Mucoid Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolated From Outpatients

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of mucoid and non-mucoid isolates of S. pneumoniae, and to explore the relationship between the isolate phenotypes and their antibiotic susceptibility.

Methods

Clinical isolates from 3,453 non-repetitive S. pneumoniae (189 mucoid and 3,264 non-mucoid) infections obtained between January 2008 and December 2012 from outpatients at the Kimitsu-Central Hospital were evaluated.

Results

Compared to the non-mucoid isolates, the mucoid phenotypes were more susceptible to certain antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin, and tetracycline as opposed to clindamycin, chloramphenicol, and rifampicin. The mucoid phenotype was isolated more frequently from schoolchildren, adults, and elderly adults in a variety of clinical sites, including otorrhea, genitalia, pus, and eye discharge than the non-mucoid phenotype. This suggested that mucoid isolates are more likely to be involved than non-mucoid isolates in various local infections. Systemic infection, which indicates invasiveness, was not associated with the mucoid or non-mucoid phenotype.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that mucoid isolates tend to have higher susceptibility than non-mucoid isolates to antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, mucoid and non-mucoid S. pneumoniae isolates considerably differ in terms of clinical isolation site and age-specific prevalence.

[Invasive pneumococcal disease of serotype 6C with skin and soft tissue infections in an immunocompetent adult]

We report herein on a rare case of deep-soft tissue infection due to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). A 77-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with progressive pain in the right upper arm and the distal leg associated with swelling. We diagnosed the condition as multiple instances of cellulitis that were initially treated with ceftriaxone and clindamycin. Penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PSSP) was isolated from blood cultures on admission. Although inflammatory marker levels improved following susceptive antibiotic therapy (ampicillin), multiple abscesses, septic arthritis and osteomyelitis were detected with image testing. The antibiotic was then changed to meropenem and arthroscopic surgery was performed for the right shoulder; the patient's clinical symptoms improved. Since pneumococcal infection including skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) often causes blood stream invasion or metastatic suppurative complications, metastatic lesions or multiple abscesses should be taken care of.

Changes in capsule and drug resistance of Pneumococci after introduction of PCV7, Japan, 2010-2013

We aimed to clarify changes in serotypes and genotypes mediating β-lactam and macrolide resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from Japanese children who had invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) after the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was introduced into Japan; 341 participating general hospitals conducted IPD surveillance during April 2010-March 2013. A total of 300 pneumococcal isolates were collected in 2010, 146 in 2011, and 156 in 2012. The proportion of vaccine serotypes in infectious isolates decreased from 73.3% to 54.8% to 14.7% during the 3 years. Among vaccine serotype strains, genotypic penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae strains also declined each year. Among nonvaccine serotype strains, 19A, 15A, 15B, 15C, and 24 increased in 2012. Increases were noted especially in genotypic penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae isolates of serotypes 15A and 35B, as well as macrolide resistance mediated by the erm(B) gene in 15A, 15B, 15C, and 24.

Stability of the pneumococcal population structure in Massachusetts as PCV13 was introduced

Background

The success of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (PCV-7) introduced to the US childhood immunization schedule in 2000 was partially offset by increases in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and pneumococcal carriage due to non-vaccine serotypes, in particular 19A, in the years that followed. A 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) was introduced in 2010. As part of an ongoing study of the response of the Massachusetts pneumococcal population to conjugate vaccination, we report the findings from the samples collected in 2011, as PCV-13 was introduced.

Methods

We used multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to analyze 367 pneumococcal isolates carried by Massachusetts children (aged 3 months-7 years) collected during the winter of 2010–11 and used eBURST software to compare the pneumococcal population structure with that found in previous years.

Results

One hundred and four distinct sequence types (STs) were found, including 24 that had not been previously recorded. Comparison with a similar sample collected in 2009 revealed no significant overall difference in the ST composition (p = 0.39, classification index). However, we describe clonal dynamics within the important replacement serotypes 19A, 15B/C, and 6C, and clonal expansion of ST 433 and ST 432, which are respectively serotype 22F and 21 clones.

Conclusions

While little overall change in serotypes or STs was evident, multiple changes in the frequency of individual STs and or serotypes may plausibly be ascribed to the introduction of PCV-13. This 2011 sample documents the initial impact of PCV-13 and will be important for comparison with future studies of the evolution of the pneumococcal population in Massachusetts.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-015-0797-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

High prevalence of genotype 6E (putative serotype 6E) among noninvasive/colonization isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in northern Japan

Serogroup 6 of Streptococcus pneumoniae contains four established serotypes (6A-6D). Recently, putative serotype 6E (genotype 6E) was proposed as a novel type, which is cross-reactive with 6B-specific antiserum, but its capsular polysaccharide synthesis (cps) locus is genetically distinct from those of serotypes 6A and 6B. In the present study, prevalence of genotype 6E was analyzed by a newly designed multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for noninvasive or colonizing S. pneumoniae isolates in northern Japan assigned to serogroup 6 in our previous study by the sequential multiplex PCR developed by Pai et al. Among the isolates previously assigned to 6A and 6B, 2.2% (1/45) and 77.3% (140/181) of isolates, respectively, were revealed to have cps genes of genotype 6E. Eight 6E isolates selected for further analysis were found to have identical or highly similar sequences of cps genes (wzg, wzh, wze, wciN, wciP, and wzy) to those of strains previously reported as putative serotype 6E, and all the isolates were classified into sequence type 90 (ST90). Reanalysis of genetic traits on penicillin and macrolide resistance clarified significantly higher rates of three pbp mutations (gPRSP) and ermB in genotype 6E than in serotypes 6A and 6B. These findings suggested a need for detection of genotype 6E in the surveillance of S. pneumoniae serotypes.

[Genetic analysis of multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae including meropenem resistance that was isolated from elderly residents with pneumonia in nursing-care facilities]

From February to December 20XX, penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) showing MICs of 16-32 microg/mL to cefotaxime (CTX) and 4-8 microg/mL to meropenem (MEPM) were isolated from 6 patients hospitalized at the general hospital S (2 cases) and hospital A (4 cases), close to the hospital S. Five elderly patients among these six cases came from nursing care facilities or nursing care-related medical facilities. All elderly persons (mean age: 81.7 years) were diagnosed as having pneumonia at the time of admission and the problematic PRSP was isolated from sputum samples collected on admission. Notably, all of these PRSP isolates simultaneously showed high resistance to macrolide agents mediated by an erm (B) gene and to fluoroquinolone agents via mutations in the gyrA and parC genes. Eventually, they were identified as multidrug-resistant S. pneumoniae (MDRSP) with high resistance to many agents. The capsule type of all strains was serotype 19F and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed that they belonged to clonal complex (CC) 7993, which has not been reported before. It was thus concluded that the MDRSP that had spread within the nursing facilities was transmitted to the general hospitals via the elderly inpatients with pneumonia caused by these agents. Although one case finally had a poor outcome, the pneumococcal infection was not the direct trigger of the event. The current ratio of MDRSP is concluded to be very low. However, general hospitals that accept patients for therapeutic purposes from nursing-care facilities have to share epidemiological information in a timely manner with the nursing homes to prevent nosocomial infections.

The incidence of pediatric invasive Haemophilus influenzae and pneumococcal disease in Chiba prefecture, Japan before and after the introduction of conjugate vaccines

The Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine and the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) were introduced in Japan in 2008 and 2010, respectively. In 2011, immunization with these two vaccines was encouraged throughout Japan through a governmental program. Children treated in Chiba prefecture for culture-proven invasive H. influenzae disease (IHiD) and invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae disease (IPD) were identified in a prefectural surveillance study from 2008 to 2013. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) and its confidence interval (CI) were calculated to compare the 3 years before and after governmental financial support for vaccination. The average number of IHiD and IPD cases among children <5 years of age in 2011-2013 decreased 84% (IRR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.09-0.26, p<0.0001) and 51% (IRR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37-0.63, p<0.0001) compared with those occurring in 2008-2010. The most common non-PCV7 serotype encountered in 2011 and 2013 was 19A. After governmental subsidization of Hib and PCV7 vaccination, IHiD and IPD decreased in Chiba prefecture, Japan. Continuous surveillance is necessary to determine the effectiveness of these two vaccines and for detection of emerging invasive serotypes.

Protective properties of a fusion pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) vaccine against pneumococcal challenge by five different PspA clades in mice

An increase in the appearance of nonvaccine serotypes in both children and adults with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) after introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine represents a limitation of this vaccine. In this study, we generated three recombinant pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) proteins comprising PspA families 1 and 2, and we examined the reactivity of antisera raised in mice immunized with a PspA fusion protein in combination with CpG oligonucleotides plus aluminum hydroxide gel. The protective effects of immunization with PspA fusion proteins against pneumococcal challenge by strains with five different PspA clades were also examined in mice. Flow cytometry demonstrated that PspA3+2-induced antiserum showed the greatest binding of PspA-specific IgG to all five challenge strains with different clades. PspA2+4- or PspA2+5-induced antiserum showed the lowest binding of PspA-specific IgG to clade 3. Immunization with PspA3+2 afforded significant protection against pneumococcal challenge by five strains with different clades in mice, but immunization with PspA2+4 or PspA2+5 failed to protect mice from pneumococcal challenge by strains with clades 1 and 3. The binding of PspA-specific IgG in antisera raised by three PspA fusion proteins was examined in 68 clinical isolates from adult patients with IPD. Immunization of mice with PspA3+2-induced antiserum with a high binding capacity for clinical isolates expressing clades 1-4, but not clade 5. Our results suggest that the PspA3+2 vaccine has an advantage over the PspA2+4 or PspA2+5 vaccine in terms of a broad range of cross-reactivity with clinical isolates and cross-protection against pneumococcal challenge in mice.

Impact of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on serotype distribution and susceptibility trends of pediatric non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in Tokai, Japan over a 5-year period

Introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in February 2010 markedly reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and changed serotype distribution in Japan. We investigated the serotype distribution and susceptibility trends of non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates collected from pediatric patients. A total of 564 pneumococcal isolates were collected over a 5-year period between 2008 and 2012. The coverage of PCV7 significantly decreased throughout the study period, from 49.3% in period 1 (between June 2008 and April 2009) to 23.4% in period 4 (between October 2011 and March 2012). This change was mainly due to a large decrease in the frequency of 19F (from 20.6% to 9.9%) and 6B (from 10.3% to 2.7%) and an increase in serotype 3 (from 5.1% to 13.5%) and serogroup 15 (from 4.4% to 9.0%). According to serotype replacement, the susceptible ratios of S. pneumoniae to β-lactams increased slightly while macrolide resistance remained high. The high frequency of macrolide-resistant pneumococcal isolates may continue because of the high frequency of erm(B) in replace serotypes such as serotype 3 and serogroup 15. The continuous surveillance study is essential following the introduction of a second generation 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13).

Changes in nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis among healthy children attending a day-care centre before and after official financial support for the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and H. influenzae type b vaccine in Japan

The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine reduce nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine-type bacteria, which may in turn influence the presence of other nasopharyngeal bacterial pathogens. To investigate this possibility, nasopharyngeal carriage of potential pathogens was examined before and after official financial support was provided to offer the PCV7 and Hib vaccines in healthy children attending a day care centre in Japan during 2011-2012. Despite a virtual disappearance of PCV7 serotypes over time, the overall pneumococcal carriage rate remained unchanged. Although others have reported an increase in PCV13 serotypes following PCV7 vaccination, only non-PCV13 serotypes were observed to have increased in this study. The majority of H. influenzae isolates were non-typeable and Hib was not found. Our data identified an unexpected pattern of pneumococcal serotype replacement following PCV7. Continuous monitoring of pneumococcal carriage is important for decisions regarding the future of national vaccination policy in Japan.